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How To Build A Resume

Comparing A Resume & Curriculum Vitae

How to Make an Easy Resume in Microsoft Word (2020)

Resume

A marketing tool, a summary of your experiences.

  • Highlight of professional accomplishments
  • Less class and academic focused
  • Can be customized to fit each position during the job search

Curriculum Vitae

A detailed overview of academic accomplishments.

  • Academically focused
  • Highlights courses, research, teaching experience, publications, presentations, and conferences
  • Showcases skills

What If I Need Cover Letters For My Resumes

If you need matching cover letters for your resumes, then youve come to the right place. Along with our resume generator, we also have a state-of-the-art cover letter builder for you to use. In under ten minutes you can make a matching resume and cover letter, and be ready to apply for your dream job. We also recommend that you check out our free cover letter examples and how to write a cover letter guide to understand what makes the best cover letter in 2022.

Write A Resume Summary Statement

You may have heard of a resume summary statement. Theyre not super common, but they can be useful to include near the top of your resume if youre looking to add clarity or context to your resume. If youre a career changer, you might find a summary statement helpful in explaining your leap and tying your experience to your new path. Or if youre a more experienced professional, you can use a summary statement to highlight a theme that brings your career trajectory together.

Overall, you probably wont need a summary statement if your career is pretty linear and your bullet points do a great job of emphasizing what you have to offer in terms of skills and experience. But if you think it makes sense to include one, Take the time to think about what the person reading your summary wants to know before you write it, says McGovern. Good summaries explain why you do what you do and how it can help. For instance: Merging a background in ABC, I help companies improve XYZ through 123. Summaries shouldnt be any more complicated than that.

So, taking McGoverns example, you might say:

Merging a background in social media marketing and PR with seven years in the consumer tech space, I help companies improve their internal and external communication and brand awareness through data-driven, quality content and strategies that align with the modern trends of the space.

Read More:3 Resume Summary Examples Thatll Make Writing Your Own Easier

Read Also: Resume For A 16 Year Old With No Experience

Write A Matching Cover Letter

Now that you know how to write your dream resume, you might be wondering: is a cover letter necessary? The answer is yes, always include a cover letter if you have the option.

Knowing how to write a good cover letter helps you round out every application you ever send out, and boosts your chances of landing an interview.

Cover letters are a valuable tool in your job-hunting arsenal because they give you an opportunity to provide context to your resume, show off your personality, and express enthusiasm for the job youre applying for.

Heres an example of what a resume paired with a matching cover letter might look like :

List Your Experiences Or Skills

Create A Perfect Resume In 5 Minutes!

For Chronological/Combination Résumés, List Your Experiences

Starting with your most recent or current job, list your previous work experiences.

  • This section shows where you have worked and when. It also states specific accomplishments for each position or job.
  • This is where content can make your résumé run over a page, so be selective about what you include.
  • Pick experiences that seem most relevant to the position you seek. For inspiration, think of your full-time or part-time work, summer jobs, occasional jobs, internships, fieldwork and special projects.
  • Don’t worry whether your experiences are “good enough.” Employers admire people who have worked hard in a variety of positions.
  • Always start each achievement with an accomplishment verb, like accelerated, achieved, expanded, influenced, solved, maintained, generated, effected, advised, controlled, trained or utilized.
  • Don’t worry if there are gaps in the timeline, but keep everything in chronological order, with most recent jobs at the top.

Examples:

Southwestern Writing Center, Peer Writing Tutor, Yuma, AZ

Camp Granite Falls, Area Director, Mountainville, TNJune 2013September 2017- Directed staff of four while supervising 20 campers.- Taught crafts, sports and cooking.

For Functional/Combination Résumés, List Your Skills

Examples:

Self-Motivated: Proactively organized volunteers to assist with distribution at the community food bank.

Recommended Reading: How To Create Lines In Word For Resume

What Are Some Examples Of A Good Resume

Heres the thing: Your resume wont ever look exactly like someone elses, nor should it. How you choose to format it, organize your information, and talk about specific experiences depends not just on your career path, but on your field, the job youre applying for, the company that job is at, and more.

So there isnt a universal way to do a resume. But there are common themes. To give you some context as to how yours might turn out, here are three examples of different kinds of resumes.

Turn A Boring Resume Into One That Is Super

An action-packed resume is still better than a boring one. Instead of thinking of it as informative trash where you put whatever experience and education qualification youve, think of it as a professional portfolio or professional resume that showcase your:

  • What have you done in college?
  • What actions did you have to take at previous jobs? It can be a summer camp or an internship.
  • What skills do you know how to do that will set you apart from the crowd? You can mention the essential skills that youve used during the time you worked with the company.

Instead of saying, I worked at Pearl Agency as Public Relations Intern. Focus on what you did there:

At Pearl Agency, I communicated with the clients and managed events. Along with it, I created and curated engaging content to support the companys PR strategy.

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Use A Business Format

The format of your resume quickly tells an employer if you can follow directions and communicate effectively and concisely. In a way, the format of your resume is the first test of your experience that happens before a potential employer looks at the first word of your document. As with any writing genre, your resumes format should reflect the expectations of your audience. For example, most employers will expect that your resume is one page.

A professional resume format also generally includes a header with your name in a font larger than surrounding text and the rest of your contact information nearby. You should use an easy-to-read font, like Times New Roman, and space content so employers can clearly and quickly scan each section. Remember that when potential employers review your resume, they frequently scan through it as quickly as possible, which means you should make important information stand out. Many candidates accomplish this by using bold text for job positions and section headers.

How Do I Delete My Account With All Data

How to Make a Resume with No Work Experience in Microsoft Word (2020)
  • Visit our support page and selection Subject as “Delete my account”.
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    • Secure 256 bit SSL encryption

    Also Check: My Resume Is 2 Pages

    Start With The Right Parameters

    Resumes are not one-size-fits-all. The format you should use and the information you should highlight depends upon your field, for starters. So youll want to structure your resume to fit the industry standard for the job youre applying to. A quick way to start figuring this out? Check out Monsters resume templates by industry.

    Your experience also plays a part in structure. The answer to the age-old question of how long should my resume be? is that it depends upon how much time youve got under your belt. As a general rule of thumb, job seekers with under three years of experience should aim for one page, but those with more years in the field could go up to two.

    Keep in mind that a recruiter doesnt have time to sift through the next great American novel. Back in her recruiting days, Salemi says she usually spent no more than three seconds on a resume. Being succinct is key, Salemi says. Recruiters will lose focus and attention if you name every single responsibility youve ever had.”

    Lastly, theres the question of chronological or functional . We answer that question in the article Should you use a chronological or functional resume? but the gist is that functional typically makes sense unless youre a job changer, are just starting out or have gaps in your work history. Otherwise, go chrono.

    Highlight Your Relevant Work Experience

    Your work experience section is the most essential part of your resume because its the best representation of your qualifications.

    If you lack formal work experience, however, dont worry. Simply title this section Relevant Experience and use it to highlight details about your volunteer work, extracurriculars, or relevant school coursework.

    To create a logical and informative work experience section, list your relevant experience from most recent to least recent . For each job, list the following information:

    • Your title
    • Company location
    • Dates of employment

    If youre still currently working at a company, you can simply write , present for the employment dates.

    A general rule is that each job title includes about 35 bullet points of your main duties and achievements working in that role.

    3 parts of a strong bullet point:

    • 1st: Action verb
    • 2nd: Quantifiable point
    • 3rd: Specific and relevant job duty

    Example 1:

    Trained5+ cashiers, managing their cash limits and guaranteeing quality customer service at all times.

    Example 2:

    Spearheadedthe development of the first media kit amalgamation for all company projects, increasing national sales by 8%.

    One reason the above bullet points are effective is that they use action verbs to grab the attention of hiring managers. Describing your experience using strong action verbs helps illustrate to employers what youve accomplished and what kind of skills you have.

    Read Also: Latin Honors Resume

    Tips For Creating An Interview

    Creating a resume can be challenging when you start thinking about all the information you need to share with prospective employers.

    Your employment history, educational background, skills, and qualifications need to be presented in a way that will help you get selected for a job interview. Rather than a simple list of the jobs you have held, its important to include information specific to the positions for which you’re applying.

    Whats the easiest way to write a resume? If you look at resume building as a step-by-step process, it will be easier to do and much less overwhelming.

    Once youve created your first resume or refreshed your old one, you can simply tweak it to match it up with a job when youre applying for an open position.

    Read on for how to build a resume, the components required in an interview-winning resume, examples of what to include in each section, how to format your resume, options for saving your document, and tips for writing a resume that will catch the attention of hiring managers.

    When To Create Your Own Resume And When To Use Linkedin

    Choose Template

    If your LinkedIn profile aligns with your resume and is set up for the specific position you want to apply to, then downloading your through LinkedIn is an option.

    If you’re applying for several different jobs, however, and each position has its own unique set of requirements, you might be better off creating your resume . This way, you can tailor your resume to appeal to each job you submit an application to.

    J.T. O’Donnell is the founder and CEO of Work It Daily, an online platform dedicated to helping people solve their biggest career problems. She has more than 15 years of experience in hiring, recruiting and career coaching. For career tips, follow her on TikTok .

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    What Events To Attend As A Developer

    In the old days, you’d go to in-person meetups, career fairs, and conferences. However, the world has been disrupted by COVID. While I have no doubt these dark stay-at-home times will pass, we have to start looking elsewhere in the meantime.

    Attend virtual conferences

    Big gatherings are still mostly happening virtually. You can attend developer-focused events like Next Conf and GraphQL conf, hiring-oriented events like GHC, and business-centric events like Startup Grind.

    You can meet high-profile speakers and like-minded developers. You can use sites like Eventbrite to discover what’s happening.

    How To List Education On Your Resume

    The next section were going to cover is your Education. Lets start with the basics – how to format the education section & what to mention there. Then, well move on to tips & tricks thatll help you stand out

    • Program Name. E.g.: B.A. in Business Administration
    • University Name. E.g.: New York State University
    • Years Attended. E.g.: 08/2008 – 06/2012
    • GPA. E.g.: 3.9 GPA
    • Honors. E.g.: Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude.
    • Academic achievements. Any interesting papers youve written, courses youve excelled in, etc.
    • Minor. Minor in Psychology

    Here’s an example:

    Tips on perfecting your education section:

    • If you dont have any work experience, mention your education section first.
    • Mention your latest educational entry on top.
    • If you have a university degree, dont mention your high school at all.
    • ONLY mention GPA if you had a very impressive academic career .

    Also Check: Where To Put Relevant Coursework On Resume

    Whats A Resume Objective & When To Use It

    A resume objective is, in a nutshell, the goal of your resume. It communicates your motivation for getting into a new field. As with a resume summary, a resume objective should be around 2-3 sentences.

    As weve mentioned before, a resume objective is the go-to for anyone that either has no work experience or is going through a career change.

    Formula to Create Your Resume Objective:

    Looking to apply my at

    to help .

    Examples of Resume Objectives

    1) So, heres how that would look like if youre a student:

    • Hard-working recent graduate with a B.A. in Graphic Design from New York State University seeking new opportunities. 3+ years of practical experience working with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, creating illustrations & designing UX / UI. Looking to grow as a designer, as well as perfect my art, at the XYZ Design Studio.

    2) Or, on the other hand, if youre going through a career change:

    • IT project manager with 5+ years of experience in software development. Managed a team of developers to create products for several industries, such as FinTech and HR tech. Looking to leverage my experience in managing outsourced products as a Product Owner at XYZ.

    Use Resume Examples And Templates

    How to Make a Resume in Google Docs (latest)

    Use a resume example or template to help you write your resume. An example can help you decide what information to include. Templates can help you format your resume. However, whenever you use a resume example or template, be sure to customize your resume, so it reflects your skills and abilities, and the jobs you are applying for. A simple copy/paste isnt enough.

    Also Check: Academic Projects Resume

    Upload And Automatically Reformat Your Old Resume

    Already have a resume? Disappointed with the boring layout? Upload it to our builder with a single click and let our software make it look just right. All your resumes are saved in our cloud, so you can edit them as your career progresses.

    If you dont know how to build your own resume from scratch, dont worrythe website walks you through the process step by step and tells you what information you need to input for each section Zety is the best online builder overall.

    The resume maker is pretty powerful and offers a great degree of control without being overwhelming.

    Is Your Resume Not Getting Shortlisted

    Are you not getting enough calls for the interviews that you should be getting? Do not worry. We will share some proven tips and tricks that can do wonders for you.

    Let us see what you might be doing wrong:

    • Not Using Enough Keywords

    Use words in your resume based on the requirement of the job position you have been eyeing on. For instance, if the job description states the requirement of presentation skills, you can mention the same in your professional experience and skills sections.

    • Not Customizing

    Sending the same resume to all the companies can be one of the biggest reasons for not getting enough interview calls. Customizing your resume can enormously improve your chances of getting shortlisted.

    • Not Providing Numbers

    Provide figures around your achievements to give an idea of the value of your contribution to previous organizations. For example, you can provide ballpark numbers around the no. of clients you handled, issues you resolved, etc.

    • Not Proofreading

    It is crucial to review the final draft of your resume before sending it to the hiring manager. A simple grammatical error or spelling mistake can set the wrong impression and can affect your shortlisting rate.

    Hiration Pro Tip: Send your resume in pdf format unless specifically mentioned to send it in word format.

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    Who Is Zety Resume Builder For

    The Zety resume creator is a tool for anyone tired of fighting with formatting their application document in a word processor. Its even more valuable to job seekers pressed for time or worried about how the wording of their resume reflects on them as candidates. Zety can dramatically cut down on the time it would take to create a resume on your own. Weve heard success stories from job seekers in all industries. Interns, juniors, mid-level staff, all the way to c-suite executives. Even students writing resumes for college applications.

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